Is IM training really that hard?

Triathlon Forum
1

Or is it just me?

I signed up for IMAZ a couple months ago and have since ratcheted up my training to correspond. That’s not to say I’m doing full length rides or runs, or even swims at this point. I have done a single 112 mile ride just to prove I can do it within my self imposed time limit. But my rides now are averaging between 35-50 miles, trying to maintain a minimum 17mph pace. I’m stretching my runs out to 8-12 miles. I will do shorter rides/runs when I do a Brick session like today (33 mile ride, 2.4 mile run). But once I’m done I am just spent for the rest of the day, unless I take a nap.

I really don’t want to take a nap if I can help it, but days like today it’s all I can do to keep my eyes open. Main reason I don’t want to nap is because I need to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight, because I have to get up at 5:30 for work tomorrow. So I’m trying to stay awake, but that makes me just about worthless to do anything.

The situation is both compounded, and somehow ameliorated, by the fact that I live alone. So I don’t have a hubby or kids I need to take care of. But likewise, I also don’t have any help around the house. So things that don’t absolutely have to get done, don’t get done. Consequently, I’m doing the absolute bare minimum. My house, well, it doesn’t look like shit, but it certainly could use a good top-to-bottom cleaning, and that’s not going to happen any time soon.

It seems like work and training have more or less consumed my life now. Is this normal?

2

In part, yeah Ironman is very time consuming and fatiguing.

However, I suspect you’re also going too hard on your endurance work, and probably not fueling enough. Work on taking in some more calories, esp on the bike, and back off a touch on your long rides/runs. You need to make sure you’re training at the pace that reflects where you are, not where you want to be. The additional gains from training just a little too hard are negligible, but the fatigue compounds exponentially.

3

Yes.

/thread

4

Simple answer: it’s goal dependant

A seasoned athlete training to just complete, no its not hard at all.

A seasoned athlete training to PR, yes its very hard

A new athlete training to finish : it depends

As everything, it’s not s simple answer, but in the end if you simplify it, no ironman isn’t a hard event to train to finish.
But many want to feel the accomplishment so we continue to build it up to be ratio worthy

5

Or is it just me?

I signed up for IMAZ a couple months ago and have since ratcheted up my training to correspond. That’s not to say I’m doing full length rides or runs, or even swims at this point. I have done a single 112 mile ride just to prove I can do it within my self imposed time limit. But my rides now are averaging between 35-50 miles, trying to maintain a minimum 17mph pace. I’m stretching my runs out to 8-12 miles. I will do shorter rides/runs when I do a Brick session like today (33 mile ride, 2.4 mile run). But once I’m done I am just spent for the rest of the day, unless I take a nap.

I really don’t want to take a nap if I can help it, but days like today it’s all I can do to keep my eyes open. Main reason I don’t want to nap is because I need to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight, because I have to get up at 5:30 for work tomorrow. So I’m trying to stay awake, but that makes me just about worthless to do anything.

The situation is both compounded, and somehow ameliorated, by the fact that I live alone. So I don’t have a hubby or kids I need to take care of. But likewise, I also don’t have any help around the house. So things that don’t absolutely have to get done, don’t get done. Consequently, I’m doing the absolute bare minimum. My house, well, it doesn’t look like shit, but it certainly could use a good top-to-bottom cleaning, and that’s not going to happen any time soon.

It seems like work and training have more or less consumed my life now. Is this normal?

Hah - no kids or hubby? Not to say your life isn’t hard, but things like even contemplating training for an IM are often completely off-the-table to even consider with kids (particularly young ones) or spouse.

But yeah, I don’t even train for IM, but when I’m putting up 14-16hrs/wk for half-ironman training, particularly in the volume builds phase, I get really tired during the day. And I’m considered typically a very hi-energy person. I don’t think we talk about it enough here on ST or elsewhere - there is a cost to the high performance, and fatigue during the day is really common when you’re pushing your physical boundaries on the SBR. There’s no easy answer besides learning to manage it, and getting as much rest as possible.

6

You are a Marine…Suck it up!
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7

Ya, I think I’m overdoing it now. For one, living in the desert, like I do, it’s easy to get dehydrated and not realize it. In the span of a month, we went from having daily highs in the 60s and 70s to bumping up against 100 by noon. The distances and intensities I’m doing now are not that far above what I’m accustom to, it’s just that now I’m doing them far more frequently. Six months ago, a 50 mile ride would be a once-a-month thing. Lately, I’ve been shooting for that more like once a week.

For reasons stated in previous threads, I’m not very good about hydrating on the bike. I need to figure out a solution for that. But part of the reason I chose IMAZ is I expect the climate in mid November to be very similar to what it is here. If so, then the heat should not be quite the factor as it is here now. I’ll be more worried about wind than heat.

Even so, right at the time when I should be cranking up my training, I think I’m going to have to hold back. At the very least, figure out some hydration solutions and maintain where I am. Scheduling November may come back to bite me.

8

You are a Marine…Suck it up!Yes, I still am, but I’m also now solidly in my mid 50s. As much as I hate it, the limits of what this old body are capable of are lower than they were 30 years ago.

9

It’s as hard as you want to make it. Take care of yourself.

10

solidly in mid fifties. I think between 50-60 is where abilities start to decline precipitously. It may well be your age.

11

You are a Marine…Suck it up!Yes, I still am, but I’m also now solidly in my mid 50s. As much as I hate it, the limits of what this old body are capable of are lower than they were 30 years ago.

Didn’t do my first Ironman until I was 50 and was so glad I waited! It was awesome! After 50 one has learned patience, which is huge with Ironman training AND racing. I am guessing you could be doing way too much volume or going too hard. I was fortunate to have the best coaches in the business IMO, and we did the least amount of training to get to the start line fresh. Race day was a dream, so remember to take this long rides EASY… and not worry about pace. I think pace is a terrible metric to base workouts on. PE is still king with heart rate a strong contender… Good luck and hang in there. If you do the training and have no energy for anything else, it’s VERY obvious you are going too hard.

12

As I replied in another thread you started, welcome to growing old. :wink:

Your race is almost 6 months away. You have time to build toward your targets slowly, and to modify those targets depending on your progression.

This is worth quoting and isolating for emphasis:

You need to make sure you’re training at the pace that reflects where you are, not where you want to be.

Be patient, be realistic, be kind to yourself and most of all, have fun with what you’re doing. Have some faith in your ability to be race fit by November. Yes, that can be difficult when we’re comparing ourselves against younger metrics, especially if we live alone, work full-time, train alone and are not relying on a coach. It’s easy for doubts to set in, but ultimately you just have to fall back on trusting yourself.

Those are my circumstances too, and I’m sure there’s plenty others who do IM whose lives are much the same. Unsurprisingly, we’re not typical of the many here posting about marginal gains and technical details.

I finished my annual IM earlier this month. Unlike you, I wasn’t doing 50 mile rides at 17 mph, six months out from race day. My longest rides were two flat 75 milers and a 60km in a triathlon in March. Up until New Years Eve, my bike was still packed in a box from flying home from IM the previous May. This was a considerable improvement on the previous year when I didn’t start cycling until 8 weeks before IM.

Six months out, you’re not in bad place by any means. You just have to find your good place.

My advice is to find a level of training that is currently sustainable for you. Sustainable in regard to your work, time, recovery, effort, and enjoyment. Then just be consistent.

Consistency and time will be you two biggest allies. You have the latter, you just need to settle comfortably into the former.

13

I appreciate the feedback from you all. Honestly, my biggest problem is me. I have an incredibly hard time forcing myself to stick to a predetermined pace. I know I should, but every time I get busy, I move the goal posts. This winter, training on my elliptical, I would set a pace of an 8min/mile, but then I would get into it and realize I could get that eight miles in 60 minutes (7.5 min/mile) instead of 64 minutes, and then that was my target. I do this all the time. Even when I try to force myself to stick to a pace, invariably, I feel like I’m not training hard enough and then it’s off to the races. I know it’s bad, but it’s so hard for me to break that habit. I’m a habitual overtrainer.

14

Echoing a question that’s already been asked - can you post a representative example of what you ate and drank during a workout, plus the workout?

15

If I did another IM again, I’d do shorter rides. Maximum 4 hours at a higher intensity. Not saying it’s better than a Z2 6 hour ride, but the latter would bore me shitless and I used to dread them.

16

If I did another IM again, I’d do shorter rides. Maximum 4 hours at a higher intensity. Not saying it’s better than a Z2 6 hour ride, but the latter would bore me shitless and I used to dread them.
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Yeah. I like riding long so that doesn’t bother me but I think something like this would be enough for those MOP/BOP just wanting to get through the ride happily.

1hr easy, 4x (20min above race pace/10min very easy),1hr easy = 4hrs

I also think that for time crunched folk who are also MOP/BOP there is no real need to ride and run long every week. I’d alternate them with the run never longer than 1:45’ish,with a scaled down version of the long ride above. Watching BOP’ers struggle through stupidly slow 2hr+ weekly training runs has always been frustrating for me.

17

I see people moving to Ironman and just because the distance has increased they think they can magically do more work to prep for it.

The reality is that you need to do the right amount of training to make you better and not what some plan says you have to do. Build as much endurance as you can with the ability to recover from the workouts, then work on pacing. Base your pacing off your current abilities and not some arbitrary time goal.

If you can’t do 6 hour rides all the time then don’t, extend them out for every two weeks or whatever works for you.
If you can’t run long every weekend then don’t, alternate them with a long bike ride every other weekend.
The swim is what it is, be able to complete the distance.

You need to be healthy. Getting enough recovery is one of the elements of it. Don’t kill yourself, you can do this, lower your expectations to what you can do in reality.

18

During my IM days my weekends looked like 4-4.5 hours ride followed by 40-45 min run on saturdays and 15-18 miles run on sundays. On week days, rides in the 90-120 min range and runs in the 60-90 range. Always placed in the 1st 10% (more often 6-7%) of my age group. 6-7 hours rides can be good, but not mandatory to get in the best shape

19

It’s whatever you want to make it.
Last year for IMLP, I just needed to finish for Legacy. I only did 25 training sessions in the 90 day run-up, totaling 49 hours. But I finished.
Yes, it was my slowest IM to date, by less than a minute. (I spent too much time in T2 pondering a DNF.)
It was also my heaviest IM by about 5%. But again, I got the job done on very little training.

If you’re tying to Kona/podium, etc, yes, it can be quite a chore. However, if you’re only goal is to finish, I’ve always thought people make it seem way more difficult and train way too much for what the event actually is.

20

OP is all over the place. she was complaining in other threads she made that she is getting slower but doesnt do any speed work. This is the trap of long distance events. The best thing would be to defer to next year or another race, and work on getting speedier this year. 5k, sprints tri, 20km bike time trials, 500m swim events. When you PR and stop improving, move up in distance